Combined stand and cabinet apparatus for books



Sept. 25, 1951 F. s. SCHADE COMBINED STAND AND CABINET APPARATUS FOR BOOKS Filed July 30, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet l v INVENTOR Fm/Y/r J'l'A/YLL'X 60mm EYS F. S. SCHADE Sept. 25, 1951 COMBINED STAND AND CABINET APPARATUS FOR BOOKS Filed July 30, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y ATTOFzEYS F. S. SCHADE Sept. 25, 1951 COMBINED STAND AND CABINET APPARATUS FOR BOOKS Filed July 30, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 INVENTOR W 1 2 a w v M 1 4 u M f ATTORfii f Patented Sept. 25, 1951 CONlBINED STAND AND CABINET APPARATUS FOR BOOKS Frank Stanley 'S'chade, Holyoke, Mass., assignor to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 30, 1947, Serial No. 764,721

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to. a combined work stand and cabinet apparatus to hold books of records on the stand for working on them and for preventing access to them when that is not desirable as when the worker leaves the stand for any reason. The word books is here used to mean any sort of record keeping equipment involving many sheets in collected form whether in loose leaf or permanent binders or simply collected together :to handle in bulk as trays for example.

In the prior art stands having mechanism to hold and help manipulate many bound records are available in various for-ms. The present invention is of this general kind. It is adapted to be particularly useful as an improvement under the following circumstances. In large ofiices a great mass of confidential records need to be handled, payroll records for example. It intended to keep them guarded against access by and liability to the random gazing of the many workers of a large ofiice. Elaborate, expensive systems have been devised for this purpose. The desire is to restrict access to those workers necessarily using the confidential records for company purposes. A common fault is that a worker having proper access to the records takes them out of the vault or guarded storage place, works on them, goes to lunch while they are exposed, or even leaves them out over night. One object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is so easy to handle and inexpensive enough inor-igin'al cost, and so convenient in all round use in large oflices that a properly worked out system to guard the confidential records is easy and will not be neglected in many oiiices which do now neglect the desired guarding of their confidential records.

With this explanation of intended use the invention will be disclosed in its structural features. It is a specific invention and its features will need to be understood from the specific explanation of the example of the apparatus shown by the draw- 1ngs.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus with the cover closed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus with the cover open and the sidewalls or skirt or housing at a lowermost position;

' Figs. '3, 4 and are perspective views of the component parts of the apparatus, shown in generally separated relationship; Fig. 3 shows the work stand; Fig. 4 shows a tray which may be used in conjunction with the stand; and Fig. 5 shows the cabinet member with side portions broken away to show a latching mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the assembled apparatus taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1. In this view the cabinet is latched in the upper position; the legs of the cabinet are broken away to save space;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but with the cover removed and the latch release mechanism shown in release position .and the cabinet member about to lower by gravity to its lower position;

Fig. 8 shows the condition of the parts when the latch has been released and the cabinet has been lowered. In this view a tray as shown in Fig. 4 and two visible record indexes or books .have .been shown in position in dot-dash lines; and

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 6. This view is taken through the latch release mechanism.

As shown in the drawings, and with particular reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5 the apparatus to be used to hold the records includes a stand generally indicated by the numeral I. A table portion 3 of the stand I is supported by legs formed of angle iron and each made in two sections, an upper section 4 and a lower section 5, upper section 4 of each leg is fixed to the table portion '3 and is adjustably attached to the lower section 5 by means of bolts 6 and holes I in the leg section 5 to determine the heigh-th of table 3. A shelf 8 braces the lower leg sections 5. Casters 9 are mounted in the lower leg section 5. The stand I has vertically extending stops 1 9 carrying rollers H to limit downward travel of the cabinet .2 when it moves to the lower position of Fig. 2-

as will be explained in detail later.

The cabinet 2 is a box-like structure consisting of sides [2, ends l3, a bottom I4 and a cover 15. The cover I5 is fastened to one of the sides [2 by means of double hinges I6 so that when the cover I5 is swung open it will hang loosely at a position parallel to the side I 2 to which it is fixed as shown inFig. 2. A lock ll serves to lock the cover J5 down in closed position. A handle 18 helps the opening of the cover whenever access to the records contained in the cabinet 2 is desired. .Side handles I9 (only one of which can be seen in Fig. .2) permit the cabinet to be lifted more easily to its upper position, that is from position of Fig. 2 to Fig. 1 or to be lowered.

The latch release mechanism for the cabinet in its upper position is shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Referring specifically to Figs. 5 and 9, a vertical bar 20 extends upwardly along the inner surface of one of the cabinet end walls l3. It is movable vertically a distance limited by a pin 2| on the end wall I3 riding within a slot 22 in the bar 20. The lower end of the bar 2|] is fixed to a horizontal crossbar 23 while the upper end has fixed thereto a button 24 which extends through a slot 25 in end wall I3. A lever 26 pivoted to the end wall I3 at 21 has one end fixed to the button 24 while the other end extends upwardly to the upper edge of the cabinet 2 and has a flat inturned portion 28 at that point. A spring 29 anchored to the end wall at 38 constantly urges the button 24 and the bar 2|] to their upper position.

The cross bar 23 is pivoted at each end to side bars 3I, Fig. 5, which bars extend along substantially the entire length of the cabinet housing, being fixed to the inside legs 32 of elongated hinge structures 33. The outer legs 34 of the hinge structures 33 are in turn fixed to the upturned flanges 35 of the cabinet bottom I4 of the cabinet housing. When the button 24 and the bar 20 is in the upper position as urged by the spring 29 the side bars 3| and hinge legs 32 are swung in toward the stand I and abut a cooperating stop plate 36 fixed to the bottom of the stand top 3, as is shown in Fig. 6, see also Fig. 3, thus supporting the cabinet in its upper position. When the button 24 is depressed (Fig. 7), the side bars 3| and hinge legs 32 are swung into closed position free of the stop plate 36 and the cabinet is free to drop, or to be lowered, until the rollers I I carried by the stop brackets I abut the turned in flange 31 at the top of the cabinet housing. This position is shown in Fig. 8. The rollers I I also function to center the cabinet laterally with respect to the stand I. A bufier plate 38, fixed to the end walls I3 of the cabinet and having an inwardly curved portion 39 serves to guide and position the cabinet, housing with respect to the ends of the stand I by the sliding bearing of portions 39 against the end walls of the table 3.

It should be noted that in building the assembly that the bottom wall I4 of the cabinet, see Fig. 8, is fixed to its side walls I2 to lie underneath working table 3' of the stand I. In this way the table 3 is inside the cabinet so the cabinet can not be removed from the stand after assembly. The notches at the corners of wall I4, see Fig. 5, are for permitting the legs 4 to, pass by the wall I4 in the operation. The cabinet 2 as seen in Fig. 5, is shown with its bottom wall I4 fixed in place merely for convenience of showing cabinet parts together. But it should be understood that when assembled with the stand for use, the cabinet wall I4 is fastened on the cabinet bottom, as by riveting or welding, after the skirt made by thecabinet side walls has been a telescoped onto the stand I, tohave wall l4 fixed below the table 3 as in the assembly view of ,Fig. 8.

It will be seen form Fig. 8 that in the lower position the cabinet is supported by rolls II, on brackets I0, which are in contact with ledge 31. In the upper position the opposite leaves 32 of the latch mechanism have swung in and support the cabinet on opposite ledges 36, until the cabinet is unlatched to be lowered.

In Fig. 4 an adapter tray 40 is shown which is constructed to accommodate two or more record books for example. A retaining plate 4| having downturned flanges 42 is adapted to fit into a recess 43 in the table top 3. The adapter has upstanding sidewalls 44 to hold the record books placed therein.

In Fig. 8 such an adapter and two record books contained thereon have been indicated in dotdash lines. In open position the book covers be r against rollers 45 held in brackets 46 to the side walls I2 of the cabinet 2. When the cabinet walls are drawn up around the record books from the lower to the upper position the rollers 45 will push the book covers over to book closed position where they will remain until the cabinet is lowered again.

It should be understood that there are in the prior art, various forms of stands with table tops, on which groups of office records in loose leaf assemblies, bound for convenience, and adapted to be mounted on the stands with the help of tray adapters, such as shown in Fig. 4. There are other known types of adapters available for similar use.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a new and useful apparatus for the records as they are mounted on their stands. The construction and operation of the cabinet as combined with the stand in the one apparatus and with mechanism to coordinate them is of importance in this disclosure.

The operation and use will be now referred to for a better understanding.

Let it be assumed that the cabinet 2 is opened up and in its lower position, indicated in Fig. 2. In this position, the tray 4| of Fig. 4, loaded with two books of record sheets R, Fig. 8, having book covers 0, may be placed on the top 3 of stand I to adapt the books for the apparatus. A working position for these books is indicated in Fig. 8. They are shown with the bottom portion of outer covers C, just above their cover hinge lines, bearing on rolls 45 and in book open position for examination and manipulation of the record sheets. I

It will be apparent from Fig. 2 and Fig. 8 how on oflice worker uses the apparatus when at work on the records. When the time comes for the worker to go to lunch, leave for the night or for any reason to be absent, the utility of the present invention comes into play.

The worker lifts cabinet 2 from its Fig. 2 position to its Fig. 1 position, closes top or cover I5 and locks said top. It will be seen from Fig. 8 that in the lifting operations rolls 45 will move vertically rolling against outer covers C to automatically close the books on stand I in preparation for closing and locking the cover I5.

As the cabinet is being lifted the latch mechanism will be in the position of Fig. 8, with pin 24 held to upper end of slot 25 by spring 29 and hinge plates 32 of this mechanism will latch past ledges 36 and snap to latched position as shown in Fig. 6. The latch mechanism will stay in this position to hold the cabinet 2 in its upper position until the latch is hand operated to release it. When latched in the upper position cover I5 is put over and locked. The pin 24, Fig. 9, extends outside the protecting wall for convenient operation by a finger of the hand which is holding handle I9 adjacent to the pin 24. This pin can not be depressed to release the latch when the cover is in locked positionbecause finger 28 of the latch mechanism, Fig. 8, is then underneath a flange 41 of the locked cover, Fig. 9, and can not be moved upwardly. An opening through flange 31, Fig. 8, permits passage of finger 28 through flange when cover I5 is open. Consequently, the cabinet 2 cannot be accidently dropped with its closed cover on top of the books by unlatching the cabinet after it is locked up. The books to be used in the apparatus may be of various heighth. It is desired to have the cabinet 2 held in its one upper position whenever books of any size are in the cabinet and the cabinet closed to guard them. While pin 24 is accessible on the outside of the cabinet it is interlocked with the cover l5. When the cover'is locked the latch mechanism is locked.

It will be seen from the description of the structure that it can be used in the following way which is the main use intended. Books of records can be taken from their guarded storage room only as needed for work. The books can be mounted in the stand, wheeled to the point of working use and worked upon with facility of the stand mounting th books in fully exposed position at the right heighth along side a desk, for example. When the worker needs to leave the records for any reason, it is very easy to lift the housing to upper latched position, swing over the cover and lock it to lock up the records. On return it is very easy for the worker to unlock the cover and drop the cabinet to lower position. In the system all records may be guarded constantly either by the presence of the confidential Worker or by thelocked up cabinet.

The idea of the cabinet disclosed so far as the invention is concerned, is to make'it feasible for use with respect to its inexpensive construction, its ease of operating, and its effective operation for the purpose stated. In a large office with a great mass of records to handle there will be many cabinets to guard the records. In a small ofiice where no more than one cabinet is needed to handle records taken out of guarded storage for a workers tasks, the cabinet disclosed is feasible for use and quite inexpensive. The apparatus construction shown is one adapted to fit in as an accessory to any one of many systems for guarding records in large or small ofiices and to extend the guarding system to and including the working point. At the working point many confidential records are now left unguarded for lack of an efiiciently workable cabinet to guard them at a low enough cost. The cabinet disclosed will supply this need for oflice equipment.

Having disclosed the invention, its scope is pointed out by the following claims:

1. In apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a book truck to carry books from storage to the point of use and mounted on the truck a table top with legs to support the books in working position at Working level, a cabinet having a bottom wall mounted underneath said table top and side walls extending upwardly in telescopic relation to the table top and its legs, the bottom wall of the cabinet having openings to freely pass said table legs, a top cover for the cabinet, and a cabinet lock for said cover, spring latch means mounted on the cabinet and stationary abutment means on the table top engageable by said latch means for supporting the cabinet in its upper telescopic position, manually releasable means mounted on said cabinet to release said latch to lower said cabinet to its lower telescopic portion, and abutment support on the table to hold the cabinet in position to expose any books on the table top.

2. In apparatus of the kindedescribed, the combination of a book truck to carry books from storage to a point of use, said truck having a table to support the books in working position at working level, a cabinet for completely enclosing said table and its contents whenever desired comprising side walls positioned for vertical telescopic extension relative to said table and a hinged cover and a lock for said cover, stop means to limit the amount of vertical extension of the cabinet relative to the table, manually releasable latch means mounted on the cabinet and fixed abutment means on the table structure engageable by said latch means to support the cabinet in its upper telescopic position, an interlock device operatively connected to said latch means and engaged by the cover in closed position to prevent the release of said latch means.

3. In apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a book truck to carry books from storage to the point of use, said truck having a table to support the books in working position at working level, a cabinet for completely enclosing said table and its contents whenever desired comprising side Walls positioned for vertical telescopic extension relative to said table and a hinged cover and a lock for said cover, spaced stop means mounted on and extending upwardly from the table structure to support the cabinet in its lower telescopic position, manually releasable latch mechanism to support the cabinet in its upper telescopic position relative to the table structure, said latch mechanism including latch plates mounted on opposite inner cabinet side walls and adjacent the bottom thereof, a manually releasable spring biased lever structure carried on the cabinet and urging said latch plates to latching position, latch striker plates attached to opposite edges of said table and in the path of said plates when in latching position, and a latch locking lever on the inside of said cabinet connected at one end to said lever, the other end of said locking lever being engageable by the cover when the latter is in closed position, whereby closure of said cover is operative to maintain said plates in latching position.

FRANK" STANLEY SCI-IADE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,407 Partridge May 20, 1890 1,506,086 Ruby Aug. 26, 1924 2,319,613 Lichtstern May 18, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 186,104 Great Britain Sept. 20, 1922 796,969 France Feb. 3, 1936 

